SENATE BILL NO. 119 "An Act establishing a grant program to support public school libraries." GINNY AUSTERMAN, STAFF, SENATOR DONNY OLSON, explained that SB 199 was at the request of the Alaska Association of School Librarians (AkASL). It establishes a program to assist libraries with purchasing materials that will update their collections. This version of the bill includes a grant of up to $3000 per year per school. The funds are to be used to expand library collection materials: books, magazines, reference and audio visual materials, and electronic curriculum that support reading activities. Ms. Austerman explained that the grant money may not be used to purchase classroom materials, textbooks, testing software, library automation software, computer hardware, operating software, or for technology support. The grants will be awarded to eligible public school libraries and will be administered by the person in charge of the state library. Unused funds may be awarded to a school district as an incentive grant to encourage innovative public school library programs. If the funds are not sufficient to fund all of the eligible grant requests, the available funds shall be paid out on a pro rata basis. 9:08:00 AM Senator Thomas wondered about the reference to communities with a population of less than 10,000. He requested information about the definition of "community" in existing statute. Ms. Austerman did not have that information. 9:08:36 AM Co-Chair Hoffman MOVED to ADOPT CSSB 119 (FIN), labeled 25- LS0749\C, Mischel, 1/29/08, as the working document before the committee. Co-Chair Stedman OBJECTED for discussion purposes. Senator Thomas said he asked the question to determine which communities would be eligible for the grant. Ms. Austerman agreed to find that information. Senator Dyson asked where the funds would come from. Ms. Austerman explained that they would be obtained by appropriation from general funds. Senator Dyson pointed out that there were matching funds contained in the bill. 9:10:00 AM Co-Chair Stedman related that the bill is modeled after to the harbor bill in that the state would appropriate funds into a capital matching account out of which communities could apply for monies to construct or expand public libraries. The state would match 50 percent of the capital to the community's 50 percent. Communities would be allowed to use entities such as the Rasmuson Foundation for funding. At least 20 percent of the funding must come from the local community. The concept is for the communities to construct and expand public libraries using some of their own money. Similar to the harbor bill process, there may need to be additional language needed to deal with maintenance issues to ensure that the libraries will be maintained to a high standard by the communities. 9:12:54 AM Senator Elton pointed out that the Department of Education and Early Development maintains a prioritized list for major maintenance for new school construction. He reference page 2, line 24, where it says if there is insufficient money to fund all eligible grant requests, the available money shall be paid on a pro rata basis, which seems to assume that all requests are equal in value. He wondered how the requests would be prioritized. Ms. Austerman noted that eligibility requirements are spelled out in the bill. She reported that the person in charge of the state library is in charge of determining how the money would be awarded. Senator Elton asked Ms. Austerman to find out more information about that. 9:15:48 AM SENATOR DONNY OLSON, SPONSOR, talked about how library needs might vary in different areas of the state. He reported that the purpose of the bill is to provide an opportunity for communities to have access to new library materials. It is important to have this legislation because of the rapid changes in technology and outdated materials and information. 9:17:11 AM Senator Dyson agreed with Senator Elton's concern about finding a fair way of distributing the grant funds. He voiced concern about unorganized communities with a school not having access to this program due to a lack of ability to raise matching funds. He gave an example of the Sitka School District library's "enlightened" philosophy that welcomes students from home schooling and correspondence programs. He hoped that those types of schools would be eligible for the grant. 9:19:34 AM Senator Huggins wanted more information about determining who is eligible for the program and how many schools might qualify. Co-Chair Stedman listed population centers over 10,000 in the state: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Eagle River, and Juneau. They are eligible for larger capital dollars to be used for expansion of libraries. This legislation is geared for smaller areas. He provided the borough of Kenai and Soldotna as an example. Senator Huggins assumed some of the sites in Mat-Su would be eligible. He reiterated a definition of who is eligible. Co-Chair Stedman said the intent is to include such schools. 9:22:32 AM CATHY BOUTIN, DZANTIK'I HEENI MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARIAN, JUNEAU, noted that though libraries do a great job of instructing children, the cost of books and materials has increased. She gave examples of books that are now more expensive. Co-Chair Stedman assumed Ms. Boutin was supportive of the bill. Ms. Boutin said she was. 9:27:03 AM BARB BRYSON, LIBRARIAN, VALDEZ, testified in support of SB 119. She read from a prepared statement (copy on file.) As a member of AkASL, she stated strong support of the bill because it would parallel the already existing state support of public libraries. She quoted studies to support the library's relationship to higher student achievement. She encouraged support of the bill as a means of supporting school curriculum needs. 9:31:08 AM DEBBIE EDWARDSON, NORTH SLOPE SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT, BARROW, testified in strong support of SB 119. She shared personal experiences about the importance of books and reading, as a mother and as a writer. Village school libraries provide the only source of books in the North Slope area. She shared statistics about student success. She related funding issues which prevent allocating money for libraries and technology. 9:35:56 AM ROZ GOODMAN, RETIRED SCHOOL LIBRARIAN, PEDRO BAY, testified in strong support of SB 119. She provided written testimony (copy on file.) She pointed out the need for updating school library collections. She listed studies about the correlation between reading success and library collections and the need to support public school libraries. She reported on outdated materials and how schools do need new library resources. She listed the benefits of passing SB 119. 9:40:52 AM MAUREEN RADOTICH, PARENT, VALDEZ, testified in support of SB 119. She spoke from personal experience about the benefits of reading and the love of books. 9:43:31 AM CHARLOTTE GLOVER, LIBRARIAN, KETCHIKAN, provided written testimony in support of SB 119 (copy on file.) She spoke about how poorly funded the school libraries are in the Ketchikan area as compared to the well-funded public library. She related that she loans out an average of 600 public library books a month to school libraries. School libraries are some children's only resource for books. She urged support of SB 119. 9:47:30 AM Senator Elton commented that public school libraries don't have the funds they need; however, that is a failure of the school district. He maintained that Sections 2 and 3 of the bill ask the state to do something that school districts should be doing. This bill may further that problem because the state would be providing those materials that the schools should be providing. Senator Elton requested feedback on the population number used in the bill. Large school districts have a better ability to do a better job for their public school libraries than the rural schools do. He wondered about the population cap for the construction component in the bill. He wanted to be clear that he supports the bill, even though he believes that many public school districts have failed to support their libraries. 9:50:49 AM Senator Huggins echoed Senator Elton's comments. He referred to a proposed foundation formula funding increase and thought that libraries could be one of the areas funded by that increase. He asked how new libraries would be staffed. He thought that outdated textbooks might be a bigger priority than library books. He commented that schools that are funded at an 80 percent level, such as correspondence schools, might have to be addressed differently than regular schools. At-Ease: 9:53:03 AM Reconvene: 9:53:25 AM Co-Chair Stedman stated that SB 119 would be set aside until a later date. SB 119 was MOVED but NOT ADOPTED. It was heard and HELD in Committee for further consideration. 9:54:27 AM